Maveerar celebrations said underway

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 25 November 1998, 17:10 GMT]Celebrations of 'Maveerar Naal' ( Heroes' Day) by the Liberation Tigers began this morning with decorations being put up and oil lamps being lit in various parts of the Vanni, according to reports reaching Vavuniya.

Main street junctions were said to be festooned with red and yellow flags and other decorations.

Meanwhile the Voice of Tigers (VoT) radio said that the main celebrations will begin at 4 p.m. on 27 November. LTTE leader, Velupillai Prabhakaran, would deliver a speech to the Tamil people over the VoT, said the radio.

In recent years, the tape-recorded speech has been broadcast over the radio at a specific time. However this year, Prabhakaran's speech is to be broadcast live.

In the aftermath of the capture of the northern town of Kilinochchi, Prabakaran is expected to comment on the military and political stand of the Liberation Tigers in his speech.

To mark the Maveerar week, the radio has announced that a service in Sinhala is to be launched today. The service can be listened in the FM band from 6.30 p.m. informed sources said.